Yellowstone Bioprospecting: Educator Guide

The purpose of this guide is to help educators prepare lessons and units using the information presented on this website. To explore some of the different approaches that can be taken, follow the links below.

In most role-playing exercises, each student takes the role of a person or group affected by an Earth science issue, such as microbe bioprospecting in Yellowstone National Park, and studies the impacts of Earth science issues on human life and/or the effects of human activities on the world around us from the perspective of that person or group. This technique is called individual role-playing. Roleplaying could also be used as a debate by dividing a class into groups representing various parties affected by microbe bioprospecting in Yellowstone. This technique is called interactive role-playing.

The Jigsaw Method

Using this method, students are assigned to investigate different aspects of the same problem or issue. For example, each team might analyze a different but related data set or read an article on different aspects or viewpoints on the same topic. Once each team member thoroughly understands his/her team's aspect of the problem, new groups are formed, with at least one representative from each original team. Each individual then explains her/his team's aspect of the problem to the new group. In this way, every student learns every aspect of the problem. Each group then uses combined information to evaluate a summary issue ([Tewksbury, 1995] ).

Investigative case-based learning encourages students to develop questions that can be explored further by reasonable investigative approaches. Students then gather data and information for testing their hypotheses. They produce materials which can be used to persuade others of their findings. Students employ a variety of methods and resources, including traditional laboratory and field techniques, software simulations and models, data sets, internet-based tools and information retrieval methods.

Concept Maps are visual representations of linkages/connections between a major concept and other knowledge students have learned. Concept maps are excellent tools to provide instructors with diagnostic pre-assessment prior to beginning a unit and formative assessments during learning activities. Concept Maps also provide immediate visual data to geoscience instructors on student misconceptions and their level of understanding. Angelo and Cross (1993) indicate that Concept Maps develop student abilities in certain critical areas including the ability to draw reasonable inferences from observations, the ability to synthesize and integrate information and ideas, and the ability to learn concepts and theories in the subject area.

The Starting Point project is exploring the ability of on-line resources to catalyze improvements in undergraduate teaching. The goal is to develop a resource that intimately integrates pedagogy with teaching resources and fully supports a virtual community of educators. Starting Point attempts to bridge the gap between information about teaching methods and the everyday experiences of geoscience faculty by providing geoscience specific arguments and examples. In every case, Starting Point tries to provide all of the information needed for a faculty member or graduate student to make an informed decision about the methodology that they use in a particular teaching situation, and to implement a technique easily and well.